What does it mean to be an NBA player from the Northwest?

Husky Nation has an unquenchable thirst for news on this story. Ever since blue chip recruit Terrence Jones of Jefferson High in Portland picked the black Washington hat, but did not sign a letter of intent, Husky Nation has been slogging it out in the blogosphere. Speculation took over as reports surfaced that a conversation with Kentucky coach John Calipari left Jones unsure about his decision to commit to Washington.

Much of the chat room fervor boils down to fan paranoia about which program is more bankable. At first glance, Kentucky would get Jones a larger NBA contract, but upon further review it’s not the case. Former Pac-10 players make cash in the League. Franklin High alum Jason “The Jet” Terry will make $9,075,000 this season, he played college ball at Arizona. Two former U-Dub stars, Rainier Beach’s Nate Robinson takes home $5,000,000 and Garfield legend Brandon Roy gets $3,910,816. On average those figures are comparable to any star in the League from any school, including the Eastern Powers.

Random note: The NBA pay scale can be screwy and non-intuitive, for instance, Jermaine O’Neal ($23,016,000) makes more than teammate Dwayne Wade ($15,779,912). And Peja Stojakovic ($13,392,000) makes almost as much as teammate Chris Paul ($13,520,500). But for the majority of the League, pay depends on years played plus production.

I can’t read Jones’ mind, but I can sympathize. According to his high school coach, Jones is a pleaser, same as me. I still struggle with it and I am almost 30. It can be debilitating. Jones will not reach his potential until he rids himself of this handicap. When one is a pleaser, they say,”yes” to everything. So in my case, I double and triple book myself instead of being straightforward. I dodge calls and am a perennial no show. The first half of my 20′s, I was a rumor, rather than a friend. The last two years, I finally figured out I owe it to myself to be upfront and unapologetic. I have found that the people close to me appreciate this way of being. When you try to please everyone, you end up disappointing most people. Jones needs a way out. My advice? Reach out. Not just to friends and family, but to guys that have done what he wants to do. Find the Northwest basketball luminaries and pick their brains.

Notes on Brandon Roy’s knee

The most pressing question of the playoffs: Why doesn’t Brandon’s knee have a Twitter page like LeBron’s elbow?

Game 4, of the first round series against Los Suns, Roy comes back 8 days after knee surgery. Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan was ambivalent, but Blazers owner Paul Allen signs off on it. Roy comes off the bench in the first quarter. As he takes his shooting shirt off, the crowd shows much love. He runs in and scores 4 points with ease.

Game 5, I notice Roy shoots free throws weird. He stands with his feet at a diagonal, they don’t point straight toward the basket. He misses the free throw. Every time he goes into the lane or falls down, I cringe. Roy moves awkward, gimpy and herky-jerky. It’s too soon. The more I think about it, the more I am sure this was a stupid decision. It was heroic, but dumb and reckless. There is no reason to risk re-injury or worse. Of course the player wants to play, but Roy isn’t some weekend warrior, a walking turnover playing on bum knees. Roy is a fine-tuned finicky European Roadster, he shouldn’t drive with a spare.

This is NBA basketball, where guys knife to the basket, and John Stockton rams his knee into your quad. If Roy has blinders on and can’t see that he needs to sit for his future, then McMillan should put his foot down. Blame also lies with owner Allen. It’s not like Roy is Willis Reed limping back into the Finals to psychologically lift the Blazers to win a championship. It’s the first round. Roy should rest for a minimum of 6 weeks.

Game 6, I start to doubt my previous stance. Roy is moving well, not wearing a knee-pad or brace. The double teams he draws open up the floor for Rudy Fernandez and Webster. It’s the first time I have ever marveled at Roy’s cross-court lobs. I think, “Maybe the knee is fine.” He is probably in tune and knows when his body is ready to play. He’s not forcing it. He is the epitome of a “let the game come to me” kind of player. So much so, that it looks like he’s playing in slow motion much of the time.

Dynamo dynamics in the 2-0-6

At Leschi Elementary, I ask Jace, a second grader, “Who is your favorite player?” He smiles and says, “Brandon Roy.” As I walk down Leschi’s front hall, I notice flyers for Seattle Prep alum Martell Webster’s Basketball Camp at Lakeside, this summer. Webster is under the radar a bit when we talk about all the NBA talent from the Seattle Metropolitan area. Why is that? Is it because somehow some way Prep couldn’t make State even with 2 first round draft picks in Spencer Hawes and Webster? Back at Prep, Webster hung out around the arc and chucked long balls. Now his game is well rounded, he became the best offensive player Portland had in the playoffs.

Are there clicks in the 2-0-6? Isaiah Thomas is currently the number one son in the fraternity of Northwest basketball luminaries. Nate Rob shows up via Thomas’ Twitter page a lot, but KryptoNate is also good enough friends with John Brockman and Hawes to charter a plane to Syracuse to watch the Dawgs in the Sweet Sixteen. That said, NBA notoriety has been more of a South end thing. The I-5 South peach-basket-corridor starts at Garfield, snakes past Franklin, Beach, rolls through Renton, Kent and settles in Tacoma. The South end guys are the closest-knit group and put out the most production in the League. Of course there are clicks in every kind of social setting including hoop, Crawford and Roy refer to each other as best friends, and Terry congratulated Crawford for his Sixth Man of the year award on his Twitter page, Terry snagged the honor last season.

While watching the Mayweather/Mosley fight, my friend Chad argues, “Jason Terry is definitely the best to ever come out of the hood, but Brandon Roy will be.” I counter with Crawford, but quickly latch onto Chad’s logic. The Jet has the largest body of work, played in an NBA championship, and has accepted whatever role the Dallas Mavericks have requested of him. We as Seattleites, couldn’t ask for a more graceful guy to represent our culture than The Jet.

Reed Wacker can be reached at reedwacker@gmail.com, his website or his Twitter feed.